CHOOSE THE BEST TEXAN CITY FOR YOU
Best for music: Austin
The Texas state capital (austintexas.org) likes to sell itself as “the live music capital of the world”. While this is quite a boast, there is no doubt that Austin knows how to put on a noisy show. Venues range from the grand Paramount Theatre (austintheatre.org), which has held its poise on Congress Avenue since 1915, to the busy Cactus Cafe
(cactuscafe.org), for new bands. Then there is South By Southwest (sxsw.com), the annual extravaganza of music, theatre and comedy that takes over the city every spring (next year it takes place from March 13 - 22).
Best for Texas tradition: Fort Worth
There is a distinct cowboy culture to Fort Worth (fortworth.com) — not least in its Stockyards (fortworthstockyards.org), the 40ha complex which operated as a livestock market in the 19th and 20th centuries and is now revitalised as a nest of shops, restaurants and hotels. The West also sings in the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (cowboysofcolor.org), and in the National Cowgirl Museum and
Hall of Fame (cowgirl.net), where a macho side of the US acquires a female perspective.
Best for history: San Antonio
The city (visitsanantonio.com) occupies an emotive groove in the soul of the US. The Alamo (thealamo.org) was the site of the much-saluted 1836 battle between
Mexican troops and would-be independent Texans. San Antonio Missions National Historic Park (nps.gov/saan) also charts the entwined heritage of Texas and the nation next door, in the form of four missions built by Spanish settlers.
Best for art: Houston
The biggest city in Texas (and the fourthbiggest in the US as a whole), Houston
(visithoustontexas.com) swaps its colossal scale for subtle brush strokes in its intriguing art museums. Its Museum of Fine Arts (mfah.org) offers greats from Canaletto to Renoir, while the Contemporary Arts Museum (camh.org) keeps things modern, with touring exhibitions of work by 20th- and 21stcentury visionaries. The Blaffer
(blafferartmuseum.org) has a similar ofthe-moment identity, presenting around eight shows a year of installations, sculpture and photography.
Best for food: Dallas
Each of Texas’s major urban hubs would declare itself the state’s king of the kitchen, but Dallas (visitdallas.com) can support the claim through sheer number of restaurants. West Lovers Lane in Bluffview is home to chic affairs such as José (jose.mx) — where daring Tex-Mex dishes are served by feted chef Anastacia Quiñones, below. McKinney Avenue in Uptown is similarly alive with gourmet options — such as Namo
(namosushi.com). And you could eat forever on the Belt Line Road in North Dallas — where every imaginable cuisine is cooked.